The 30 best Apple Watch apps

If you're wondering which apps to get for your Apple Watch, look no further. We've rounded up the 30 best

When the Apple Watch first launched we were excited about the possibilities Apple's wearable had to offer, and following the release of the lovely Series 4 model the platform seems to have more potential than ever.

A raft of fine apps have been released for the Apple Watch, and matters further improved with the successive updates to watchOS, which among other improvements made Apple Watch apps more independent from their accompanying iPhone - although at present you still need to have the app on your iPhone to run it on the watch.

Great apps are constantly being released for the Apple Watch; the hardest thing is deciding which apps to download. Finding the third-party apps that are right for you is a vital way to get the most out of your watch, so jump in as we rattle through our hall of fame: the 30 best apps for Apple Watch.

Oh, and 22 of them are free. Did we mention that?

1Password

'Less is more' when it comes to wearable apps, and this stripped-back version of 1Password's mighty iPhone app is a good example. Instead of trying to replicate the entire password-management feature set, it just covers login keys for two-factor authentication - simple but handy.

Calcbot

Apple didn't include a calculator on the Apple Watch, assuming that people's fingers would be too pudgy to perform calculations. How wrong they were. Calcbot deftly steps in to fill a calculator-shaped gap on the Apple Watch. If you upgrade to the Pro version you can get specialised assistance when working out tips.

Camera Plus

Camera Plus is one of the most popular third-party camera apps for iOS, and gives you a lot more control over your photography than what's currently available in the stock camera app.

The Apple Watch support brings with it some great features, such as photo & video capturing with a live preview as well as an instant preview after capture to make sure it was exactly what you wanted. You can also swap between the front or back camera and set a timer - all from your wrist.

Although you can also use your Apple Watch as a viewfinder for the stock camera app, this brings a lot more functionality within one single app and we're looking forward to what Camera Plus are planning for the Apple Watch in the future.

CARROT Weather

The Apple Watch CARROT app makes heavy use of colour instead of graphics to tell you about the weather for the next hour, which creates a simple but informative UI. For example, the text will be blue if it's raining/going to start raining soon, or yellow if it's sunny.

Citymapper

Citymapper is no doubt one of the best public transport apps available for iOS and Android - if it's supported in your city (London and Manchester so far in the UK). The iOS app doesn't disappoint and neither does the Apple Watch companion. The app uses your location to provide step-by-step instructions that enable you to navigate your way around, using public transport.

It gives you in depth knowledge about departures from all forms of public transport, and even taps you on the wrist to let you know when you've reached your stop.

Dark Sky

Want to take the dog out for a walk but not too sure if it's going to rain? Just open up the Dark Sky app on your Apple Watch and it'll let you know if it's going to rain or snow in your location, up to an hour in advance. Alternatively, if it's going to rain in your location, you'll get a tap on the wrist and a notification displayed on your Apple Watch.

You can also see a 24-hour timeline of weather conditions for today, tomorrow and even the next day.

Evernote

Evernote is a cracking app for the iPhone and a much more powerful note-taking tool than Apple's Notes - which is missing from the Apple Watch anyway, so there's never been a better time to switch. You can read all your most recent notes, and dictate new ones directly from your Apple Watch.

Fantastical

Green Kitchen

The Green Kitchen app allows quick and easy access to dozens of healthy and organic vegetarian recipes, straight from your Apple Watch. Once you've found a recipe you like, it'll be displayed on your iPhone ready for you to use.

If there's a step to your meal that requires a timer, a simple tap on your iPhone will start a timer on your Apple Watch. When the timer hits zero, you'll get a notification through to your Apple Watch informing you. Pretty handy, eh?

IFTTT

The IFTTT app gives you access to all your favourite services on your Apple Watch in the form of applets for services including Twitter, Instagram, and Gmail, as well as Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Nest, Philips Hue and more.

With the app you will be able to control everything around you with your voice - including using Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Instagram

Of course Instagram was going to make an appearance on the Apple Watch. You are able to scroll through your feed (photos of food, no doubt), like photos and leave comments, though it's restricted to emoji only.

You interactive notifications straight to your wrist, allowing you to keep on top of the likes & comments on the photo of the roast dinner that you uploaded half an hour ago.

iTranslate

We love the iTranslate app. With it you can speak a sentence in English and have it quickly converted into another language. It's ideal if you're learning a language, of course, but it's also very handy if you just happen to be abroad and want a quick way to figure out how to say something. All together now, "Un croissant, s'il vous plait!"

Just Eat

The popular UK takeaway middle man Just Eat has thrown its hat into the Apple Watch ring, adding Apple Watch support to its app. Once you've ordered your takeaway using the iPhone app, your Apple Watch will give you updates on the delivery time of your order as well as directions to the takeaway (if you've selected collection) and your order summary.

It's not exactly a game changer for Just Eat, but it does what the Apple Watch was built to do - stop you from looking at your phone every two minutes.

Lifesum

Health and fitness play a key part of the Apple Watch experience, but running in the gym is only half the story: the other, possibly more important, half is watching what you eat. Lifesum is a neat app that logs your meals. With the Apple Watch, you can quickly add items you regularly eat or generic calorie counts of meals.

We found Lifesum to be a great way to keep track of calorie counts, and a seamless way to keep tabs on what you are eating.

Microsoft Translator

If you're planning a holiday abroad or travel a lot for work, chances are you're going to come in contact with another language. Typically, you'd bring a translation book with you. However, if you have an Apple Watch, you just need to download the Microsoft Translator app.

The app lets you speak to get translations from more than 50 languages, including French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch. It's free to download and use, and should get better the more you use it.

MultiTimer

This simple, 'does what it says on the tin' offering lets you create, customise and label multiple timers to an extent not possible using the native app. If your memory is anything like ours, this will be seriously handy.

Nest

You can control your Nest Thermostat from your wrist, turning your heating on or off, setting the target temperature, and more. You can also set the Home and Away modes to recognise when you're at home or out and adjust the temperature accordingly.

PayByPhone Parking

Returning to your car with a fine on the windshield after forgetting that you'd only bought a ticket for one hour is no doubt one of the biggest "first world problems". The PayByPhone Parking app for the Apple Watch aims to change that by using the app to pay for a ticket and check on the time remaining.

Not good enough yet? You'll also be notified 10 minutes before the ticket expires, where you'll then be faced with a decision of whether to rush back to your car or add more time, directly from your wrist.

Philips Hue

We all know what it's like to get into bed and realise that a light is still on. The solution? Phillips Hue for Apple Watch. Assuming you're using Wi-Fi lights throughout your home, the app will let you control and monitor them straight from your wrist.

Of course, you'll need Phillips' range of smart lights in your home, but it's a great idea if you want to make life a little bit easier. The Apple Watch currently supports the first-generation Hue app.

Shazam

"Ah, I know that song but I can't remember what it's called." We've all been there, and Shazam wants to make it a thing of the past. Its Apple Watch app uses your iPhone to listen to what music is playing and display the result on your wrist.

The Apple Watch displays the name of the song and artist as well as lyrics that automatically advance in time with the music. This means you'll have a portable karaoke display on your wrist at all times!

Now that Apple's bought Shazam we imagine it will be integrated into Siri and the Apple Watch even more in the future.

Sky Guide

Sky Guide is an example of one of the more unique apps available on the Apple Watch, which gives you an idea about some of the not-so-obvious uses of the Watch. Sky Guide allows you to see a calendar of upcoming astronomical events (full moon, meteor showers and so on) and can send you a notification alerting you of an event happening in the skies at your current location.

It'll also notify you when the International Space Station is due to fly over your location and lets you tweet its astronauts!

It caters to amateur stargazers; displaying images of constellations that are visible in your location, giving you a greater insight about what you're looking at and enabling you to star gaze more accurately.

Sleep++

There are so many Apple Watch apps out there to help you monitor and hack your personal health, and sleep is one of the main focus areas. If you suffer from sleep deprivation or would just like to learn more about how you sleep, Sleep++ is an app worth downloading. While it can't match up to health bands from companies like Jawbone, it can provide helpful information about the way you sleep.

Separating the main sleep stages, it can tell you how you slept and if you were restless. This data can then be shared with other apps via Apple HealthKit, so you can identify what's wrong and put actions into place. The only thing is, though, you need to have the Watch on all night - which may result in battery woes.

Strava

While Strava is similar to Runtastic, Strava boasts the ability to track bike rides as well as running. Strava will display real time stats including elevation gain, average speed, distance and heart rate during your exercise session.

It can also be split into different segments that gives you details of your workout, helping to keep you motivated. And while we're talking motivation, you'll also receive a virtual trophy whenever you set a personal record. Everyone likes trophies!

Twitter

Twitter has been redesigned to fit the compact display of the Apple Watch. You can scroll through your Twitter feed directly from the watch, as well as favourite/retweet tweets on your feed. You can also view Top Trends if you want to see what the wider world is talking about.

You also have the choice of being notified by a simple tap on the wrist whenever a new tweet appears: a good idea for casual users, but not for those of us following 600-plus people!

One of the more interesting features of the Twitter app on the Apple Watch is that you can compose your tweets using dictation. You can also just tap emojis or share your location.

Twitterrific

Twitterrific, a popular third-party Twitter client has also added Apple Watch support to its app. The Apple Watch support consists of three parts: Glance, Recent Activity and Notifications. Glances provide you with the total number of favourites, retweets and followers you've received over the past 24 hours. The notifications are accompanied by quick actions, similar to the way the company handles notifications on iOS 9 that let you favourite a mention without using your iPhone.

The app itself displays a list of your most recent 25 replies, mentions, direct messages, faves, RTs and new followers. If you want to reply to a tweet, simply tap on it and dictate your response - interestingly, you can utilise Handoff to start composing a tweet on your Watch and finish it on your iPhone.

Uber

Organising an Uber ride is far from complicated. You just need to make a quick call from your smartphone. But if you're out and about - say shopping - then things would be a lot easier if you could do it from your wrist. Enter the Uber app for Apple Watch.

The app is not only easy-to-use, but provides you with all the important information about your Uber. For instance, you can get an estimate of when the driver will get to you and your location, and you're able to see what car the driver has so you can find them easily. Just like all of Uber's other apps, it's completely free to use. You just pay for the ride, obviously.

WaterMinder

Lots of fitness fans are tracking their water intake at the moment, and this app makes that process as convenient as possible. It also nags you with reminders throughout the day so you don't fall behind. 'Water' good idea.